INDIAN BUSINESS - WINDS OF CHANGE (HR) - Milestones

Milestones In The History Of HR

1920’s :

Labour Union Movement in India got its impetus; around the same time, the term Labour Officer was coined.

1950’s :

Saw the emergence of Labour Unions as a powerful force; a force that will probably have the most interesting, if not dangerous, impact on Indian businesses and the way people in them are managed. Perhaps during the same time the term Labour Officer was interchanged with many a term and some of them are used till date.

HR Roles And Responsibilities In The Pre-Liberalization Era :

• Labour Officer – Largely dealt with recruitment of labour, general welfare and upkeep of labour class in big plants and manufacturing sites. His / her regular jobs were to plan and implement processes pertaining to salary, wages, welfare, etc.

• Safety/Security Officer – Generally dealt with regular security and safety (understood as welfare conditions today) in the plant to ensure proper and safe working conditions.

• Welfare Officer – Generally a cross role between labour officer and safety / security officer.

• Personnel Officer – A high-end version of Labour Officer’s role with added responsibilities of general administration in the plants.

• Administration Officer – Dealt with general administration and maintenance of the plant. • HR Officer - Very few companies had the role of HR professionals as it is understood today. This role actually evolved in a major way only post liberalization and globalization in the early 90’s. The biggest dilemma for HR as a function in the past (perhaps till today, in some companies) was that it was never considered a ‘line’ function and always given the status of a staff role; thus there were hardly any positions like that of HR Managers or Vice President or Director - HR.

1980’s :

It was during this decade (till the 90’s) that the term HR came into being and the function which had the mere responsibility of taking care of the needs, general well being and security of the labour class, started getting a phenomenal thrust in role responsibility and job classification. Businesses during this time started realizing that people management is not an easy task and it needs specialized attention. Thus came into reckoning the erstwhile term HR; a term which served the longest tenure till date, to recognize people who are doing everything but were seldom seen as a line function. However, that paradigm is coming to an end with HR being further converted into a strategic function largely playing a developmental role in the company’s future. 1990’s : In the last decade HR has come a long way -- from being merely a function which was an interface between unions and workers and Management, merely doing operational and administrative jobs in a company, to a function which has classifications with a range an umbrella of job roles and responsibilities today.